Trying to be truthful about Arsene Wenger
The conversation about Arsene Wenger and his current status with Arsenal is as varied as ever. The lack of luster from this current Arsenal squad has brought in to question his standing as Arsenal manager and whether or not he should stay or go. It has also brought out nastiness in some folks who want nothing more than for him to get sacked yesterday.
As is with everything Arsenal these days the tenure of Arsene Wenger is more nuanced and requires some truthful introspection.
Let’s try and make sure we are straight on a few things:
Without a doubt Arsene Wenger is currently the greatest Arsenal manager and presided over an era of success that was amazing for this club. Yes, his current run of 8 years without a trophy is now longer than any duration between trophies for any manager who managed before him. And yes, on the surface his current side are on course to be the worst squad in his 16 year tenure.
But the fallacy that Arsene’s success as manager were in some way inherited are contrived and at best misleading. Sure the back four that were at the club were there when he got there and they were arguably one of the best English defenses ever. But when some of those players were looking at the twilight of their careers Arsene came in changed their training style, their diet and other areas and extended their playing careers. It is no small fact that many of those “inherited players” still proudly stand by their former manager.
Additionally, it wasn’t too long before Arsene would put his stamp on the club. While Dennis Bergkamp came in via the Bruce Rioch era, had it not been for Arsene Wenger and his changing Arsenal from a defensive, route 1 club to the free flowing club they were, Dennis likely wouldn’t have realized his full potential at the club and may have been off before he was. The two incidents – Dennis’ signing and Wenger’s assuming the managerial position would change Arsenal for the better.
Wenger is also regarded as changing the way clubs operated. He changed the way the club trained, removed negative influences like cigarettes, beer and bad food from the club and changed the overall attitude and approach of football health in the English game. He is also regarded for developing and expanding the scope of scouts through out Europe to unearth talent that most English teams wouldn’t have their eyes on.
It is that change that lead him to find the likes of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Bobby Pires and others. With the continental expansion of talent to Arsenal, other teams followed suit and soon the excitement of the Premier League was due to the many international talents brought in. All because of Arsene Wenger.
Aside from his changing the game in England his changes had an amazing affect on Arsenal which had grown stagnant under the previous regimes. A year after taking charge he would win the double – only it’s 2nd in club history – coming back from 12 points behind Manchester United to win the league. He would win the double again in 01-02. The height of his team’s success was the 2003-2004 season when Arsenal went an entire 49 games unbeaten in the league. The last trophy of course was that 2005 FA Cup on the foot of Patrick Vieira’s last kick as an Arsenal player.
So why this walk down memory lane? Arsene Wenger hardly needs defending of his record. It does truly speak for itself. However, the question now has to be asked is that record tarnished because of the run of the last 8 years.
There have been near misses like 07-08 when the mental fortitude of his side let both United and Chelsea overhaul the Gunners. The 10-11 season might have ended better had Arsenal not lost itself in the Carling Cup final to Birmingham and subsequently capitulated in all other competitions.
And then there is the statistic – 16 years in the top 4 of the league. Not a shabby achievement. But the worrying thing is that since 2010-2011 and maybe slightly before, the worrying trend of poor or abject performances by Arsenal have lead many to question if Arsenal will ever win silverware again under Arsene Wenger.
Now comes the part people may not like – IT’S A FAIR QUESTION TO ASK.
Arsene was a revolutionary when he came into the English game. There is no denying that. But since he set English football on its head many of the clubs have caught up. No longer are Arsenal conjuring up delightful nuggets of unheard of players it’s the likes of Swansea with Michu and a whole slew of other clubs. The platform for scouting Europe that was once the exclusive playground of Arsenal has now been overrun by pretty much every other club in England.
Diet and exercise, analysis of players strength and playing attributes are now part and parcel of every club.
And while England has moved forward, the man responsible for it all – hasn’t. And therein lies the problem. As much as Arsene Wenger has brought to England he has failed to keep moving forward. The innovation he brought to the game has now eclipsed him and his team is suffering for it.
Wenger seems hard set in his ways telling us repeatedly that he has over 30 years experience in management and knows what’s best. I worry about anyone who constantly needs to tell us how long they have been doing something. It cries of a need to validate themselves amongst the evidence of major issues.
30 years experience is impressive but somehow that 30 years experience seemed to come full stop at about year 23. The lack of ability to change with the game has been an obvious glowing flaw in a man with such a strong CV.
And the game has changed. Teams prepare differently. There is strategic decisions on approaches to a game made before a team even takes the pitch. Arsene alarmed many when asked if he would prepare his team to play against Tottenham and their wonder kid Gareth Bale. His reply was that Arsenal never prepare for an opponent and only focus on playing their game.
It was either a point of gamesmanship or a colossal blunder. The problem with just playing your game is that in this modern era, your opponent is planning on you playing your game. That’s the way of it. You hear it all the time, video preparation and the like are being used to allow teams to gain one up on each other. But if Arsene Wenger is to be believed that is likely not happening as Arsenal are not preparing for their opposition.
Another worrying trend is that it seems that Wenger’s style of management and interactions with individual players is no longer able to cajole the best out of players. When Wenger came into the game, it was an era of individual and team accountability. Each team member was focused on ensuring they were all playing for the badge, playing for the cause and playing for each other.
Wenger’s fatherly manner was ideally suited to this era as it allowed him to nurture and develop talents and gracefully allow players edging towards the end of their playing days to exit in style. He didn’t have to worry about policing players who slacked. Players on the pitch did that. Wenger didn’t need a “blow dryer” speech, the likes of Adams, Vieira, Henry and others did that.
But the era of players playing for a club and their teammates is gone. It’s dead. This is now an era of individuality – what’s in it for me. Players are willing to jump ship at the next big contract, club loyalties be damned. And as such they no longer care about each other. They are held together by strong tyrannical (to an extent) personalities that hold players to the fire if they fail to perform. They praise when it is warranted, extend fatherly advice when its needed but when the rod is needed to get the self-centered bastards to perform, they do it.
The personality of manager today has to be less father and more in the style of tyrannical teacher. In an era when players only care about themselves being their “friend” or “father” is not going to get the best out of a player on a consistent basis.
Throw in the added complexities of financial doping to the game and Arsene Wenger is behind – maddeningly behind the current times.
Wenger isn’t a bad manager. You don’t enjoy so much success for so long by being a bad manager. What is possible and in my opinion, more true is that the game has changed and Wenger, sadly hasn’t changed with it. Wenger holds on to a romantic vision of football that in the current times no longer exists.
Wenger believes his ways will win out. We want to believe it with him. Because who can ever deny the plentiful memories he has given us. We want our legends to always remain the vision they are to us. Wenger’s enduring image to me is the smile on his face, hands lofted over his head, as he was adored by the Highbury crowd in 2004. I never want to remember Wenger any other way than that.
It is in my opinion the key reason why so many are argumentative about Wenger’s departure. We can’t envisage Wenger in an acrimonious departure. Others have already separated themselves from Wenger and are keen for a new start. The two are obviously going to clash. And that is where we find ourselves.
Wenger was always supposed to live in a blaze of Glory, held highly above his players and praised from the supporters. As the negativity increases it only looks like a departure nobody will ever be proud or happy of.
Where you stand on Wenger is your own opinion. Stay or go. I’ve made my decision and it’s mine. It my opinion the game has moved on and Wenger has stayed behind. His failure to change has damaged a club he had so much to do with and sadly, I see no other way out of this spiral then the retirement of Arsene Wenger at the end of the season.
